David Arquette had his first beer at age four

Thursday 24 February 2011 09:38 BST

David Arquette drank his first beer when he was just four years old.

The 'Scream 4' star, who checked out of the Betty Ford Center, where he underwent rehabilitation treatment for alcoholism, at the end of January, confessed he tried his first alcoholic beverage when he was a young child during a candid interview with Oprah Winfrey.

When asked when he had his first drink, he said: "I must have been four years old. I was down in the basement with my dad and the beer was there and I just grabbed it and drank it. I remember that. It's one of my earliest memories."

David also revealed his estranged wife Courteney Cox and his actress sister Patricia Arquette were responsible for the intervention that resulted in him checking into rehab.

The 39-year-old actor, who raises a six-year-old daughter Coco with the former 'Friends' star, said: "I came back from Miami and I had taken a nap and I woke up and Patricia and Courteney were at my bed. I was like, 'What are you two doing here together?'

"Then I walked out and my best friend was there, my business partner and some guy I don't know, and I go, 'What up, turkeys? I guess this is my intervention.' "

Before he went to rehab, David had admitted he started drinking heavily following his split from Courteney in October 2010

The actor, who was regularly seen out partying in the wake of the separation, said: "I've been drinking a lot. But I don't want to go into all that, because it's really a personal, traumatic thing.

"Everybody's worried and concerned about me. When I drink, I become a maniac. This is the hardest thing anyone has to go through. You wake up and the reality hits you."